ANTHEM NEWS

As most of you have probably heard by now, Anthem, Inc., the parent company of the City's health insurance provider, is the victim of a cyber attack where member data was accessed. Read more....

Retirement Office Business Hours

Monday - Friday 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.

Pension checks are mailed out on the last business day of each month.

Direct Deposit of monthly pension benefit payments are issued to banks payable on the 1st business day of the month. The banking system in the U.S. does not process payments on weekends or holidays. Contact your bank or financial institution regarding accessibility of these funds (because of holidays and weekends).

Pension Litigation

A draft agreement was signed by the various parties on December 30, 2014. The agreement will not be finalized until additional legal proceedings have occurred over the next few months. Additional detailed information will be provided during the course of the legal proceedings. However at this time, the Retirement Staff is unable to provide further details.

Pre-Retirement Seminars - Targeted For Employees Within 10 Years Of Retirement

Reminder:

The Cincinnati Retirement System (CRS) was established in 1931, the first Ohio pension plan for general city employees. It pre-dates Social Security and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. CRS is a defined benefit pension plan, established by Chapter 203 of the Cincinnati Municipal Code and is a qualified governmental plan for tax purposes pursuant to 26 USC § 414(d). It is governed by an 11-member Board of Trustees: four members elected by active members; one member elected by retirees; and six members appointed by the Mayor and City Council.

CRS is funded by both employee and employer contributions. In 2013 employees contribute 9.0% of pensionable earnings. If the member terminates employment and chooses to withdrawal their employee contributions, the member forfeits all service credit and eligibility for a pension benefit. Employer contributions are not owned by the member and are not eligible for a lump sum withdrawal.

Employee pension contributions are pre-tax and deducted from payroll before Federal and State taxes are calculated. However, employee contributions are subject to City of Cincinnati income tax which is calculated before contributions are deducted. Pension benefits or a refund of employee contributions are taxable for Federal and State purposes when paid to the member, and are exempt from City of Cincinnati income tax.

Monthly pension benefits are payable once the member reaches retirement eligibility and has completed and submitted the required paperwork. Members who fail to submit all required paperwork to CRS in a timely manner will forfeit any benefit that otherwise may have been provided when first eligible.

CRS provides retiree health care benefits that are subject to separate eligibility requirements. Retirement healthcare benefits are always subject to change and are not a vested benefit.

Facts

The City of Cincinnati has 5928 employees. Of this total, 3813 are contributing members of the Cincinnati Retirement System.

Approximately 4,340 pensioners receive monthly pension benefits.

Approximately 6,300 retirees, spouses and dependent children are enrolled in retiree health care.

Market Value of Assets equaled $2.26 billion as of 12/31/2014

The Retirement plan is governed by the Cincinnati Municipal Code, Chapter 203.

Cincinnati Retirement System

Paula Tilsley is the Executive Director of the Cincinnati Retirement System.